Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546061
4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 AUGUST 2026 NEWS Yacht captain to Yorgen: 'Leaving in the morning will look less fishy' CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 The defence argued the email evidence related to sep- arate criminal proceedings and should not be admitted before the jury, but Madam Justice Edwina Grima ruled the ma- terial admissible, noting it had long formed part of the acts of the case. During cross-examination, the defence highlighted that the alleged cyanide order post-dated Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder by around 18 months and established that the witness had neither verified the authenticity of the emails nor produced a forensic report on them. The afternoon was dominat- ed by the testimony of Logan Wood, the former captain of Fenech's yachts, who recount- ed the events leading up to Fenech's attempted departure from Malta in November 2019. Wood testified that although the yacht had already been booked for routine servicing in Sicily, Fenech later instructed him to bring the trip forward by several days. Jurors were shown WhatsApp exchanges in which Wood remarked that "leaving in the morning will look less fishy," explaining that he "knew what was going on." In another exchange, Fenech told him, "I really need this," which Wood understood to mean he urgently needed to cross to Sicily. The court also heard that Fenech instructed Wood to switch off the yacht's AIS tracking system, "make sure the coast is 100% clear," and wait until his wife had brought his luggage only after receiving the all-clear. Wood also testified that the pair spent the night aboard the yacht before leaving Portoma- so Marina in the early hours of 20 November 2019, only to be intercepted by Armed Forces of Malta patrol boats roughly 20 minutes later, just two miles away from the marina. Wood maintained he never discussed the murder case with Fenech and described their relationship as strictly profes- sional, adding that Fenech ap- peared calm in the days leading up to his arrest. Earlier in the day, Police Ser- geant Josef Gerada resumed his testimony on the forensic ex- amination of Melvin Theuma's electronic devices. He identified numerous audio recordings, photographs, and disappearing Signal messages between Theuma and Fenech, in which Fenech repeatedly sought to reassure Theuma, telling him to remain calm and insisting he had "always stood by" him. Jurors also saw messages re- ferring to USB drives, laptops, "pink pills" and discussions in- volving the Degiorgio brothers. The court also heard from a Europol forensic document expert, who testified that he found no evidence that scanned documents examined for the Maltese police had been falsified. Businessman Yorgen Fenech, 44, is facing trial after plead- ing not guilty to complicity in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and to membership of a criminal or- ganisation allegedly formed to carry out the murder. The prosecution claims Fenech financed the assassi- nation and used self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma to communicate with the alleged hitmen. Fenech denies the charges. The prosecution is being led by AG lawyers Godwin Ci- ni, Anthony Vella, and Dani- ka Vella, alongside Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud and Inspector Kurt Zahra. The accused is being assist- ed by defence lawyers Charles Mercieca, Giannella de Marco, and Gianluca Caruana Curran. Lawyers Therese Comodini Cachia and Jason Azzopardi are appearing parte civile for the Caruana Galizia family. Madam Justice Edwina Grima is presiding over the trial by ju- ry. YORGEN FENECH JURY TRIAL Yorgen Fenech was arrested by police while attempting to flee the country on his yacht 'Gio 2' (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) "There were two patrol boats, one in front of us and one behind us. Around 12 soldiers boarded the yacht and carried out a search. Yorgen was at the front of the vessel."